"One of bloodiest battles ever, it was the German army's greatest defeat."
About the Battle
Stalingrad, an industrial city, was on the Volga river.
If the city could be captured, vital river traffic, especially of the oil being shipped to Moscow, could be stopped.
An attack would draw in the Russian army to battle the German forces; Hitler believed that Russian reserves were small and the capture of a few more troops would topple Stalin's regime.
In September, Hitler ordered General Friedrich Paulus and the German Sixth Army to capture Stalingrad and seize the left bank of the Volga in order to halt river traffic.
The battle involved more participants than any other, and was marked by brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties by both sides.
Total Casualties: 1,129,619
GERMANY ARMY
RUSSIAN ARMY
Led by Paulus
Led by Zhukov
1,011,500 men
1,000,500 men
10, 290 artillery guns
13,541 artillery guns
675 tanks
894 tanks
1,216 planes
1,115 planes
CONCLUSION: The defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad marked a turning point on the Eastern Front. The Germans never won a major battle in the East again. The Russian offensive continued to push the Germans back for two years until April, 1945, when the Russians entered Berlin.
Relationships to the Novel
Napoleon→Joseph Stalin. With Stalin being the second leader of the Soviet Union, he is most likely compared to Napolean because he leads the farm from the beginning of the revolution.
Battle Of Stalingrad
WWII, July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943
"One of bloodiest battles ever, it was the German army's greatest defeat."
About the Battle
CONCLUSION: The defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad marked a turning point on the Eastern Front. The Germans never won a major battle in the East again. The Russian offensive continued to push the Germans back for two years until April, 1945, when the Russians entered Berlin.
Relationships to the Novel